| San Giovanni Teatino | |
| Official Name: | Comune di San Giovanni Teatino |
| Coordinates: | 42.4167°N 26°W |
| Province: | (CH) |
| Frazioni: | D'Ilio, Di Nisio, Dragonara, Fontechiaro, Sambuceto, Valle Lunga |
| Area Total Km2: | 18 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 11648 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2008 |
| Population Demonym: | Sangiovannesi |
| Elevation M: | 145 |
| Saint: | San Rocco |
| Postal Code: | 66020 |
| Area Code: | 085 |
| Istat: | 069081 |
| Fractions: | Cepagatti (PE), Chieti, Francavilla al Mare, Pescara (PE), Spoltore (PE), Torrevecchia Teatina |
| Fiscal Code: | D690 |
San Giovanni Teatino is a comune and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Until 1894 this comune was known as Forcabobolina.[2] Situated on a hill overlooking the valley of the river Pescara (Aterno-Pescara), in recent years the place has undergone an industrial development, especially in the area of Sambuceto (San Giovanni Teatino).[3] Abruzzo Airport (Abruzzo International Airport, PSR) is also located in a portion of the municipal territory, close to the border with Pescara. In fact, the municipality is virtually divided into two, San Giovanni Teatino (Alto), which is the historic village on the hill, and the aforementioned Sambuceto, an ever-growing urban settlement, home to a large shopping area and an important industrialized area.<[4] >
The village was originally called "Forca Bobolina",[5] from Forca, which means narrow valley (reference to the famous "Forche Caudine" (Battle of the Caudine Forks) of the Romans) and bos-bovis or ox. The oldest documentation dates back to medieval times, precisely in 1095, when the mention of a "Castellum Furca" (Castle of Forca) and a "Sambuceti silva" (Sambuceto forest), subject to a donation by the Norman Count Robert I of Loritello (one of the Hautevilles) to the Church of Chieti, in the person of Bishop Rainolfo (1085-1105). Bishop Rainolfo who later in 1099 gives the castle of Furca and Villamagna to his two grandchildren. These donations, among others, were confirmed later by Pope Paschal II in 1115.
One of the defining traits of the ancient territory of Forcabobolina - Sambuceto was its dependency to the area of two demographic centers of importance: Aterno (Pescara) and Chieti. From the end of the 11th century CE at the beginning of the twelfth century, the relations between these cities and the then castle of Furca and Sambuceto were multi-faceted and complex. In the sources, this area is described as "silva" (forest). Chieti was the center of the episcopal power and also governing power, at least to the Normans, and exercised an institutional-political influence on Furca. The castle followed the institutional rulings of the teatino territory (teatino indicates the influence of the city of Chieti, which was originally called Theate (Greek: Θεάτη) (or Teate in Latin)), becoming, with the Norman bishop Rainolfo, a center of military political power at the service of the territorial lordship, exercising a strategic role in hosting the courts and being the seat of a military garrison.
Since the middle of the twelfth century, population growth led to the construction of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, from which it derives the present name of San Giovanni Teatino. If the Norman conquest had the power to smash the bonds between the castle of Furca and Aterno, the territory of Sambuceto and its silva were still under the influence of Aterno, as evidenced by a diploma of Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor, which in 1195, cited a "silva et territorium Sambuceti" as a dependency of Pescara. Henry VI had become the King of Sicily in 1194 when he invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily to end the Hauteville Dynasty. King Henry VI's wife (Constance, Queen of Sicily) was also a Hauteville (a daughter of Roger II of Sicily, the founder of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily). In a 1228 document by Frederick II of Swabia (Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor - Henry VI and Constance's son) attests that while Chieti has Furca under its political-institutional power, Pescara is a pole for its economic orientation.
From the Catasto Onciario, compiled in the years 1742-1743 and kept in the state archive of Naples, the families, the properties, and the places of the past are documented. An estimated 315 people lived in the town in 1743.<[6] >
The places of touristic and cultural interest are mostly churches but with some other unusual aspects:<[7] >
The main economy is commercial and industrial-based. Since the 1990s there have been manufacturing industries and shopping centers of various kinds, particularly in the flats of Sambuceto. Within the municipal area there are retail outlets of the national and international brands. The new center of San Giovanni is up and running on the current Via Tiburtina that connects with Pescara. Agricultural activities are mainly practiced on hill where orchards, olive groves and vineyards can be found.
The historic center of San Giovanni is located on a hill that has a notch in the center and does not take part in the dynamics of the valley below. The new center, located mainly along the old Via Tiburtina, developed after the seventies, as the Sambuceto plain was completely built up, resulting in a nearly uninterrupted residential and urban sprawl from Chieti to Pescara. The old sanctuary of San Rocco, extensively damaged in World War II, was rebuilt but damaged again in 2009 by the earthquake. Today, a new modern sanctuary is being constructed to serve the growing population. The population is estimated today at 14.150 compared to 5,075 in 1971.
Towards the sea, Sambuceto connects with the outskirts of Pescara, which now connects in a short time to the Portanuova. Sambuceto is also the home of the International Airport.